“This whole entire thing is real!”

Blue Lake Park a Metro Park located in Fairview Oregon just opened a new natural play area. The construction used mostly wood found on site to create the play areas many features.

Early opinions are in!

“This is fun!”

“I love sand.”

“Be careful.”

“This is scary.” (while laughing)

“Cool!”

“This is awesome!”

“This whole entire thing is real!”

 

The most popular components include:

- The sand pit

- Moving around the loose parts, building forts

- Trying out the balancing logs

- Even parents have been seen trying out the play areas features

This play area was designed and built under the watchful eye of a few dedicated Metro employees. I think the choice of components and materials is great. Metro is working on developing a maintenance policy for the natural wood components that includes weekly, monthly, and annual inspections. I think the maintenance end of natural play will be an important discussion point as their popularity increases. Maintenance folks like to have a manual, a number to call for extra parts and a set inspection list. Last time I checked a log did not come with any of these features.